Gab, the social-media platform booming on the far-right, has posted direct QAnon quotes on Twitter

• Gab quoted a message from the QAnon conspiracy-theory cult on the company’s Twitter page.
• “DARK TO LIGHT. BLACKOUT NECESSARY,” Gab said in the tweet.
• The platform has become popular on the far-right. 
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The corporate Twitter account for Gab, a social-media platform that’s similar to Facebook, quoted a message from the far-right QAnon conspiracy theory. 

Gab, which has become popular on the far-right for its focus on free speech in lieu of strict content moderation, has also become a popular meeting place for followers of QAnon, a baseless far-right conspiracy theory alleging that President Donald Trump is fighting a “deep state” cabal of pedophiles and child traffickers.

The company appears to be emphasizing its connection to QAnon by quoting “Q” drops – the cryptic messages “Q,” an anonymous figure who originated the conspiracy theory, posts on the website 8kun. “Q” hasn’t posted anything on 8kun since December 8. 

In a since-deleted tweet on Sunday, the company quote-tweeted a tweet that falsely claimed several American TV networks were down. “DARK TO LIGHT. BLACKOUT NECESSARY,” Gab said in the tweet. 

Gab’s phrasing – “DARK TO LIGHT. BLACKOUT NECESSARY.” – was used verbatim by “Q” on June 3, 2018. 

The first part of the phrase, "dark to light," has been used in 29 "Q" messages between November 2017 and June 2020, with 16 posts using the variant capitalization of "Dark to LIGHT." 

Mike Rothschild, a conspiracy theory researcher who is writing a book about QAnon, first pointed out that the tweet came from a "Q" drop. 

—Mike Rothschild (@rothschildmd) January 17, 2021

The Gab Twitter account, @GetOnGab, has since deleted all tweets prior to Monday. A Gab representative did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. 

"Dark to light" has become a popular phrase in the QAnon world, as the movement's adherents believe a "Great Awakening" of massive proportions will eventually come to pass.

The religiosity of that mythology has also been playing a role in tweets posted by Gab's corporate account, many of them referencing Jesus Christ. In one tweet, posted on Monday, Gab shared a photo edit that showed Pepe the Frog, which has become a symbol of the alt-right, walking with Jesus. 

Ashli Babbitt, the Trump supporter who was fatally shot while storming the US Capitol on January 6, was known for tweeting about QAnon and used the phrase "dark to light" in a tweet that morning, as extremism researcher Sarah Hightower pointed out on Twitter. 

Gab has become the platform of choice for QAnon followers, as the movement has been widely banned from mainstream platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. QAnon groups on Gab have amassed tens of thousands of new members in recent weeks, Vice reported.